One of my favorite publications, Lawyers USA, has an interesing article about a new test which allegedly determines whether a personal injury plaintiff is malingering. It is called the "Fake Bad Scale." The article says that "[a] leading critic of the test, Dr. James Butcher, PhD, a senior author of…
The jury found that the defendant was negligent and that the negligence caused an herniated disk. The disk problem was surgically repaired. The plaintiff used a walker for nine months and now uses a cane. Amount of damages for pain and suffering? Zero. Motion for new trial? Denied. The California…
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that a plaintiff is entitled to prove the full amount of medical charges, despite the fact that plaintiff’s insurer actually paid a less amount. The lesser amount cannot be used to prove that it is the "reasonable" value of the services. This is how…
This report published by Rueters says that if "the typical stay-at-home mother in the United States were paid for her work as a housekeeper, cook and psychologist among other roles, she would earn $138,095 a year." Is this data that can be reasonably relied upon by an economist in a…
The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that a "plaintiff need only prove with reasonable probability that the injury is permanent in order to obtain an instruction on permanent impairment of earning power." In Reece v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, 2005-SC-000079-DG (Ken. S. C. March 22, 2007) Reece was hurt in an…
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that "both an original medical bill rendered and the amount accepted as full payment are admissible to prove the reasonableness and necessity of charges rendered for medical and hospital care." The Court went on to say that "[t]he jury may decide that the reasonable value…
The Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled that a minor can sue to recover medical expenses paid to treat injuries received by the minor as a result of the negligence of another. Although most of us (at least those of us who represent plaintiffs) have thought this was probably the…
The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an opinion yesterday in the Abbott v. Blount County, Tennessee case. In an opinion by now retired Justice Al Birch, the Court made it crystal clear that an insurance company could not require a plaintiff to get approval of plaintiff’s health insurance company before settling a personal…
Damage paid for personal injury claims are not taxable, right? Wrong. Damages paid for personal injury claims "“on account of personal physical injuries or physical sickness” are not taxable. 26 U.S.C. § 104(a)(2). Damages paid for purely emotional injuries are taxable, at least in the opinion of the IRS. Now,…
You knew it would happen sooner or later. A same-sex couple in Connecticut has filed a loss of consortium claim in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Connecticut has a civil union statute that gives same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples. Given the state of the law in Tennessee it…